Gas bearings are a particular type of bearing which use pressurized gas, such as air, to maintain a gap between a moving component and the bearing to reduce friction. A gas source typically supplies pressurized gas to a porous media which expels the gas to maintain the gap. In some situations, gas bearings are used for long, non-contact linear stages to move material across long areas. Due to the length of travel and the size of the air gap, it may be difficult to maintain non-contact at all locations of the material being moved. A very flat surface is necessary for the proper functioning of air bearings due to the fact that the air gap (which exists between the air bearing surface and a load-carrying member) is very small. The present disclosure is directed to this problem of moving material over a long distance using an air bearing and with ensuring that a bearing surface is completely or essentially planar to produce an effective air gap which allows traversal across long linear distances.